There’s been a lot of talk of late on whether bloggers (moms, specifically) should get paid to blog. And by late, I mean the past 24 hours. I actually had started to draft this post last night after reading a blog post on the subject earlier in the day. Later that evening the conversation continued to unfold on Twitter with the #blogmoney hashtag.
One of the biggest problems with this entire discussion is that bloggers are not asking to be paid. And if they have asked and did not receive payment, why are they working for free? A few points on being paid:
You will never be paid if you don’t ASK.
No one is holding a gun to our heads forcing us to blog or forcing us to participate in a campaign.
As a blogger, you have the option to say NO.
As a blogger, you have the option to say YES (for free).
As a blogger, you also have the option to say YES, but for a price, at which point you kindly forward your rates and begin the negotiations.
(And yes, bloggers should consider that there are actually benefits to working for free: like building a portfolio, creating case studies, stepping into the water to see if you can really be effective. You need to know what you can do before you charge for it.)
“ladies, I am here to say something else. We have to behave like professionals. If we want to be treated as small-business women, which is what we are, we should act like entrepreneurs. No more attacks and back-stabbing. We are adults here.”
She raises two separate issues here:
To be treated as a business one must act as a business
The behavior in this space has to stop. How is it that inevitably you can find clips from the movie Mean Girls played out among a bunch of adult women, moms no less. And how many of the dynamics that have been played out belong in the book Queen Bees and Wannabes, a look into the psychosis that is teenage girl adolescence.
(and yes I have more to say on this topic, but that’s another day for another post; prepare for a book review!)
There were some solid recommendations for advertisers/companies in Kelby’s post as well:
Pay for content.
Advertise.
Hire a spokesblogger.
Hire a blogger as a social media consultant.
So both sides of the argument need to change their approach. My next question for all of the bloggers out there is–then what?
It’s Business Time (and the following clip is included because I simply can’t resist).
Put on your business socks.
As a blogger, you are going to need a few things once you decide to ASK. You asked to be treated like a business; now it’s time you behave like one. Invest in yourself like a business.
Invest in setting yourself up as a registered business.
Invest in solid accounting systems (and account for what you are given).
Invest in good branding and design.
Invest in substantial analytics so that you can deliver reliable information to those who are writing you checks.
Invest in a solid media kit.
Consider your personal liability carefully.
Invest in appropriate legal agreements and contracts.
And invest even more in legal, because now that you are investing in yourself, what will you do when another blogger slanders you, misrepresents you or causes you to lose revenue and accounts? You now have more at stake to protect.
Don’t have time to invest in these things? Than invest in someone who can. Because that’s what businesses do. Can’t afford to do it? Then take out a business loan. Because that’s what businesses do.
We live in a world where virtually everyone has access to his or her very own media platform. Practically everyone can publish. We’ve all got a soap box to jump on, and right now the messages we are screaming are about money. But not everyone can make a business of it.
Some Parting Questions to Ponder:
When should bloggers get paid?
Should bloggers share rates? Are you going to?
In a business world, would there be an element of “price-setting” happening? (sigh, call in the FTC.)
As a blogger, are you ready to take the next steps to make yourself a business?
If you are sick of hearing about the FTC and its new disclosure policies, you can navigate away from this page now. . . . Otherwise, buckle up for a long post and my soapbox! This is the stuff that wakes me up in the middle of the night. This post was originally drafted at about 4 a.m. (sad, I know).
I find far too many instances (well let’s just say most marketing tactics in general) that seem to reinforce the idea that it just doesn’t make sense for the FTC to get involved with bloggers at the level that it is doing so.
Let’s just talk for a minute about products and some of the ways they are promoted:
Product placement: There are PR firms that specialize in “product placement.” In essence, putting product in the hands of celebrities, reviewers and editors online and off.
Entertainment: Let’s take the movie Talladega Nights with Will Ferrell, for example “Thank you for this bounteous harvest of Dominos, KFC and the always-delicious Taco Bell.” Look at the products on the table: Coca-Cola (notice how the logo is faced perfectly no matter what camera angle is featured). His car is covered in Wonderbread stickers. Did they need to disclose to me up front in the movie that these products paid to be in the movie? This happens with the clothes actors wear, the stores they stand in front of and the restaurants they dine in onscreen. Wondering what the most off-quoted statement at our house from Talladega Nights is? “The Jack Hawk 9000, available at WalMart . . .”
The “O” List: How many new products can one woman love a year? I heart O. But that episode is chock full of paid product placement.
Magazines: They are sent products all day long. We could hold hands and walk down the magazine aisle at the grocery store together right now and find a range of products and reviews in print. Editors are sent products for free and oftentimes give preferential treatment to advertisers in the articles they run. They walk a pretty fuzzy line. Why are we not forcing them to make cheap disclosures on their editorial pages? Some magazine do a great job of keeping those things separate. Furthermore, what kind of resources would it take to police the print industry alone, and is it a waste of time and money to do so?
Athletes: I can’t even begin to list the ways that professional athletes endorse products. But I think I’m going to report my neighbor for cycling in his jersey, which is covered in logos, and talking about his sponsor’s snacks all the time. I’ve been victimized unfairly by the spandex.
Bonus: And one more just because I can’t resist it:
The above list is short and barely skims the surface of the many ways that products and services are marketed, placed in the media, endorsed and represented to the public.Let’s level the playing field a bit. Do I think bloggers are being unfairly targeted? Definitely. This is one messy can of worms. All of the entities I mentioned above generally have legal departments, diversified revenue streams, real operating budgets, etc. These are called resources. Most bloggers don’t have that kind of backup.
This is targeting individuals as opposed to organizations. As well sometimes, individuals might want to target each other unfairly and individually. This can also become highly personal. Additionally, all of these bloggers have varying levels of business experience, legal expertise and conflict-resolution background. Does the FTC really want to start fielding those confrontations?
A scenario:
Competitive bloggers police each other’s content. One reports the other to the FTC (fairly or unfairly). There is room for fabrication, inaccuracy and malice in this sort of scenario. Individuals, not legal experts, are most likely handling this situation.
In walks the FTC:
Does it investigate?
Does it spend its time following up on this sort of tattling?
Does it pull apart bloggers disclosure statements, policies and procedures?
Do bloggers have the resources to handle these sorts of investigations?
Who is being protected?
Who is the victim?
Would the FTC be better off following up with large organizations that are slanderous or that have inaccurate claims and statements that are being promoted to the masses?
Are there not people in underserved countries being given our leftover dangerous consumer goods who could use more of our attention, resources and protection?
Seriously, folks–there are better ways to use the FTC’s resources and policing. Let’s be clear about who bloggers are and who their audience is. Blogs are not the Consumer Reports. They are opinion and publishing platforms of individuals.
Disclosure Statements and Consumer Savvy
Moreover–am I interested in reading your disclosure statement? Not really. Consumers need to adjust.
When I walk into a basketball arena and I see the banners, I know they are paid for.
When I walk into a bookstore and I see what’s on the end cap, I know that was paid for.
When I see the infomercial with “what’s her name” endorsing Proactive, I know she is paid.
When I open a magazine and I look at most of the editors’ picks, I know that someone, somewhere provided the magazine with a product to review.
When I watch Talladega Nights I know that Doritos, Mountain Dew, KFC, Coke, Appleby’s and Wonderbread paid to have their logos, products and services in the movie.
When I pick up Us Weekly I know that half of those clothes those celebrities are wearing have been paid for.
When there are pics snapped of high-profile people at the Sundance film fest, I know that they’ve received thousands of dollars of products in their swag bags.
AND AMEN TO THEM ALL!
We’ve created a pretty complicated world with a lot of noise for marketers to create compelling campaigns to get their message across. There is a learning curve for consumers, just like anything else. Let consumers adjust as well.
Capitalism, Darwinism and Survival of the Fittest
Will a blogger thrive and grow a loyal audience if he or she is:
Continually hawking products she doesn’t believe in
Doesn’t endorse quality
Makes canned claims and reposts marketing copy in her posts
Is off message and brand to her audience
My answer is no. And I would submit to you that her audience/followers will take care of the problem. As for those who’d like to be loyal to those content creators who don’t endorse quality–it’s their choice and their monetary gamble if they make purchasing decisions based on those blogs’ endorsements. May the best blogs win!
Bloggers with real influence care about their audience. They nurture trust and loyalty through the quality of their content, and that includes the kind of products they talk about. Let Darwin dispose of them, not the FTC.
Disclosure: Ricky Bobby, WalMart and Wayne’s World did not compensate me in any way, shape or form for their media inclusion in this post. Additionally, my family does not receive any royalties or revenue as a result of using the term “The JackHawk 9000, now available at WalMart” around our home and in our personal and public conversations.
The flag on your email says, “Urgent.” My brain says, “Meh.”
90 percent of the phone calls I get are people asking if I got the press release they e-mailed. Yes, I got it. Did I read it? Maybe. Do I care? You’d know already.
Oh, wait. Here’s something new and even more annoying: A phone call from a PR person telling me she will be e-mailing me a press release later. Argh! Just send it!
If your demo tells the story in 10 minutes, don’t drag it out to 30. If your new feature can be described in a one-paragraph e-mail, don’t send two pages of fluff.
More conference etiquette: Don’t pitch me in the press room. I’m there to write. And you’re not press.
I really could not care less if you advertise in my publication. Or if, after I write up your company, you stop advertising.
If not–you should have. With PR, it’s always important to be timely. How does your business leverage the timely events that are happening in your world right now?
Before and through the elections many organizations benefited by participating in some way in their community or nation by targeting some promotion or some part of their messaging and business to the elections.
What did your business do?
If the answer is nothing–all I ask is that you brainstorm a bit and ask yourself how your organization could have participated. The cool thing about the elections this year is that is provided several opportunities.
Promotions are a great way to get involved. Whether you give away free stuff for voting or give out amazing discounts on Black Friday or the day your taxes are due, there are hundreds of opportunities to be timely. The key is to do something worth talking about.
Organizations could have been a sounding board for what people in their demographic thought or felt about the elections (think surveys, demographic studies, etc.). Just think–the Plumbers Association of America (is there one?) could have done a survey of its members to see how they felt about the economy and Obama’s tax policies, and they would have had a screamin’ press release. If your business targets a certain demographic you can identify, you have the room to be the expert on your demographic both in your local community and nationally.
TodaysMama.com does surveys all of the time regarding the different issues affecting mothers and families . . . and then we send a press release about it.
From major magazines and websites down to grassroots community organizations, businesses found a way to get involved. Whether they were targeting content, partnering with other organizations to sponsor events or helping to promote voter registration with a simple button on their site, there were endless ways to get involved.
The Results
Check out a bit of the press we drummed up promoting The MamaVote Project and our Free Sitting Promotion with SitterCity.com:
Over the past year or so and especially close to election day, we got hits from CNN, NewsDay, Parenting Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, the Huffington Post and lots of local media outlets. Check out our press page for more links and details. We also got lots of great local coverage in the various cities we are in across the country.
In addition to great coverage through traditional media outlets, we also talked to bloggers and had some amazing coverage from them (Thank you) :
What are some of the ways you can get involved with other current issues? Think about the economy, Christmas, change–and especially think about what’s going on in your own backyard. I always think the best place to start is in your local community. Is there something going on that has everybody talking? If so–you know what direction you should be headed.
If you haven’t started a blog yet, it’s time. Blogging comes with benefits.
I went to the Web 2.o Expo this week in San Francisco, a “gathering of geeks,” if you will. So as such, of course, it had a fabulous blogger lounge that was anything but geeky. Free massages, Wii on a big screen, music by Pandora, free drinks and–best of all–networking with other bloggers.
Of course, not every conference you go to is going to have a rockin’ blog lounge like the 2.o Expo. But blogging for your business or blogging about your industry gives you opportunities and a level of credibility with others that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. It also gives you access to a whole new network of people whom you would have had no excuse to talk to before. And of course, for those of you searching for someone to talk about you and your business, blogs are a vast new outlet to receive online coverage of your business.
I’m a small fish in a big sea of bloggers, but my various blogs never cease to serve up great contacts for me. Even on a person-to-person level (the real-life stuff), I’m able to meet people because of my blog. We have blogger dinners in our community, local blog networks and, of course, the huge network of bloggers available on the World Wide Web.
So if you’ve been putting off starting your business blog or blogging about a niche in your industry you are passionate about–it’s time.
Yes they did.
And they’ll do it again.
So what do you do?
When you are in business and you put yourself in the public sphere, you are going to have to accept not only praise but also criticism. Especially in the blogosphere. So how do you deal with the bad stuff? Go crying to your mama?
Someone took offense to five words of our marketing copy and wrote a 1,000-word rant on her blog. In this case in particular, I have vacillated a bit. As a staff we said our naughty words and then laughed about it. But this particular situation was a little trickier. This blogger didn’t know something about us that was about to benefit the blogger in a big way. I had recommended this particular blogger as a feature for our first magazine, which will launch in her area in June. That means her blog had a full-page feature in a magazine going to almost 200,000 people directly in her market. We had also slated her as a MamaVote featured blogger this summer.
My first impulse is to take vengeance–if she hates us so much, I will pull it, feature someone else and make sure to let her know she missed out. Once I find my Zen place, I say–who cares, I’ll leave it in. I thought her blog had value before, so I’m not going to change it just because she didn’t play nice on the playground. But as we try to take the “high road,” it doesn’t really make us feel any better that we were trashed on her blog.
But I toss this question out to everyone else: What do you do when people say bad things about you or your business in the public sphere? What should your response be? How will you react?
Do you post back on their blog? I chose not to. Who needs online “mommy gang wars”? Do you mark them as enemy number one to your company? Not a productive use of your resources. Do you pretend it never happened? While I’d like to, it made for a good blog post. Do you correct misconceptions? I’d say yes. A follow up e-mail clearing up any inconsistencies is a good idea. But don’t bring on the war!
To go the extra mile, I even emailed Godin about our bully on the playground. His response: “It’s not that bad! Comment or write a polite note.”
Lesson for us: It usually looks worse to you and your staff when someone kicks your baby. Buck up!
Lesson for bloggers: You never know what bridges you are about to set ablaze when you blog. Think before you post. For sweet justice, I know that one day I will be seated next to the woman I dedicated a 1,000 word blog post to! I’m sure it will be on an airplane or somewhere uncomfortable!
But what I want to know is how would you handle bad blogger press? I want to hear from the PR pros and novices alike!
